Dining Out: Peoria Po-Boys offers first-rate Louisiana cuisine

Wednesday

PEORIA — If you’ve ever scurried around the French Quarter, you know that some of New Orleans’ best food lurks in dank, shabby holes-in-the wall.

You won’t find that kind of dank authenticity at the renewed Po-Boys, thank heaven. But you will find top-notch Louisiana fare.

The eatery’s run on University Street ended six years ago. But it's been reborn inside a sharp, two-story strip mall off Frostwood Parkway, in Northwest Peoria.

You could call the place classy, upbeat casual. A wide bar centers the polished joint, with tables scattered around a fireplace and delta blues wafting about. Friendly staffers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic — as if they genuinely enjoy being part of the fun.

The only distraction: a gaming area of five machines, somewhat set off with partitions. We have no objection to wagering; however, that area doesn’t work well with the rest of the ambience — it just doesn’t fit.

The menu of cocktails and wines is worth perusing. Choices range from the Pat O’Brien hurricane, a staple in the Quarter, to the likes of the Marie Laveau, named after a 19th-century voodoo priestess and involving St. Germain elderflower liqueur and Prosecco, which sounds like a sweet martini for hipsters.

Other options include a Bloody Mary ($8) touted as the “finest ... in town” — a boast perhaps on-target, with a simple but flavorful blending that sported a spicy (yet not overwhelming) zing. Meantime, the wine list tends toward offerings not typically found on local store shelves, including the 3 Girls pinot noir ($8), which exuded a lightly smoky and plum-like flavor.

The bill of fare is focused, and mostly on seafood. Of eight appetizers, all but one are linked to a pond (crawfish), swamp (gator) or river (catfish). The oysters dauphine ($12) were a succulent treasure, lightly breaded and fried, and served with homemade remoulade; however, we will quibble with the description of “generous portion,” which was actually six. We also sampled the crab dip gratin ($12), a fantastically rich combination of crab meat, six cheeses and creole seasonings. But the star of this dish was the fried bow tie pasta chips: the kitchen boils farfalle, which are then fried to sharp, wonderful and unique crispness.

One of just two entrees, the jambalaya ($14) combined rice with chunks of chicken and sausage. I thought it tasty, though my wife found it a wee salty. Of nine po-boys, we opted for the crab cake version ($14), in part because Po-Boys makes the cakes daily. The freshness did not disappoint, nor did the terrifically chewy bread. On the side, you can choose either kettle chips or house-made fries, the latter of which were browned to perfection.

For dessert, there were two choices. The bread pudding ($6) was a lightly sweet delight, while the pecan pie ($4.75) was so remarkably smooth and perfect as to make all other pies pointless forevermore.